Is my will to get the kid to bed greater than the kid’s will to stay out of bed? That’s the age-old question, isn’t it? Question? Ha! Wrestling match. I was wrestling with it the other night. My wife was out, and I was on bedtime duty. Failing! “Please go start getting ready for bed so when your mother comes home she doesn’t think I’m an incompetent swallowtail buffoon.” I said this after I told my daughter to turn off the TV. At least twice. Maybe 15 times. “Fine,” she said. Not angry. Just resigned. She clicked it off. I was impressed. I’m a dad with superpowers. Kid just listened to me! I’m a commanding presence. Should have been a general with tanks and troops. Then she followed me upstairs … Huh? “Child, what are you doing!?!” I asked. “Following you upstairs,” was the answer. Ask a stupid question … “No, no. See, WHY are you following me upstairs? I asked you to go get ready for bed … downstairs … where YOUR stuff is.” But I made a tactical error: I asked it as we kept walking … up the stairs. When we reached the top she answered: “I don’t know.” I’m a swallow-tail buffoon! “Go downstairs and get ready before your mother comes home and decides to auction us off on eBay!” “Fine,” she said. Matter-of-fact. She marched off. Down the stairs. I’m not incompetent. It just takes a little time to get my message across. Get this … Continue reading The nighttime get-ready, get-ready